senate majority leader harry reid, a democrat, and republican house speaker john boehner were among those attending. the president called for high income workers in the u.s. to pay more in taxes. >> i think we're all aware that we have some urgent business to do. we've got to make sure that taxes don't go up on middle class families, that our economy remains strong, that we're creating jobs. >> the republican speaker of the house of representatives asked for a balanced approach. republicans have been called for added revenue through curbs on tax deductions and credits. >> i believe that the framework that i've outlined in our meeting today is consistent with the president's call for a fair and balanced approach. >> any new legislation must be enacted before the end of december to keep the u.s. from plunging off that fiscal cliff. >>> senior diplomats from japan and north korea wrapped up a round of talks in mongolia and have reported some progress. the north koreans also say they're open to talking about their country's abductions of nationals. they don't seem to go farther until japan ha